Experimental evidence for inhibition of N-nitroso compound formation as a factor in the negative correlation between vitamin C consumption and the incidence of certain cancers.

Ascorbic acid (ASC) consumption is negatively correlated with the incidence of certain cancers. This is a review and update of the theory, which has recently been neglected, that this negative correlation is due to ASC inhibition of in vivo nitrosation. The review covers the older literature on ASC inhibition of carcinogenesis by nitrite administered with amines or amides and more recent studies on ASC inhibition of nitrosation by bacteria, nitrogen oxides, and activated macrophages; the role of oxygen in ASC inhibition of gastric nitrosation; ASC inhibition of N-nitrosoproline formation in subjects from areas with high incidences of certain cancers; dose and temporal relationships between ASC and in vivo nitrosation in humans; the role of substances other than ASC in the inhibition of nitrosation by vegetables and fruits; and the active secretion of ASC into the human stomach.